Hey! If you'd rather listen than read, scroll to the bottom for my podcast on Anxiety. :)

Anxiety is a battle that many of us face at some point in our lives. Whether it's triggered by stress, life transitions, or even learned behaviors from our families, anxiety can feel overwhelming and uncontrollable. 

But what if there was a biblical strategy that helped us fight back and experience peace?

Today, I’m sharing a practical faith-based approach that helps us take control of our anxious thoughts and find peace in the midst of fear.

Understanding How Anxiety Shows Up

Anxiety can enter our lives in several ways. Yours might come from:

• Family: Anxious behaviors can often be learned from family members, friends, or others close to us. These patterns can influence how we think and react to stress.
• Genetics or Biochemistry: Some people are more prone to experiencing anxiety due to their personal chemical makeup.
• Circumstance: Life’s stressful moments—like school pressure, family dynamics, or big transitions—can trigger anxious feelings.
• Hard Things Happening: Perhaps something in your life burst your safety bubble, leading you to believe that the world is unsafe or that people can’t be trusted.

While we can’t always control what happens to us, we can choose how we respond. And this is where a biblical worldview can be helpful—we have a choice.

The Truth: We Don’t Have to Accept Every Thought

Here’s something that might surprise you: we don’t have to accept every thought that pops into our heads! For me, realizing this was a game-changer. 

Thoughts will intrude on us uninvited, and while we can’t always control which thoughts come in, we have the power to choose which ones we allow to stay.

The truth is, anxious thoughts are like bunny rabbits—they multiply very quickly! 

The moment an anxious thought creeps in, we have a choice: we can either focus on it and agree with it, or we can choose to reject it and kick it out. We can take authority over our thoughts.

Fighting Back with Scripture

We don’t have to be victims of our thoughts. Anxiety doesn’t have to rule us. 

As believers, we have the power and authority to fight back. One of the best ways to do that is by using Scripture.

In moments of overwhelm or when anxiety strikes, it can be helpful to walk through Philippians 4:6-7 as a roadmap for overcoming anxious thoughts. 

These verses offer a powerful exercise that helps us confront our fear and replace it with God’s peace.

Here’s how it works:

1. “Do not be anxious or worried about anything”  Begin by confessing your anxious thoughts to God. Acknowledge what you're worried about. Be specific.
2. “But in every circumstance and situation, by prayer and petition” Pray and ask for God’s perspective, His help, His peace. Surrender your anxious thoughts to Him. Picture yourself handing them over to Him.
3. “With thanksgiving” Thank God for where you already see His hand at work in the situation. Thank Him for His promise to never leave you, for His presence, for the strength He’s already given you. Even in tough situations, we can thank Him that it’s over, or that He’s providing in the midst of it in some way.
4. “Continue to make your specific requests known to God” Continue to lay this at His feet when you are tempted to think about it again.
5. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” Finally, thank God for His peace. Sit in it. Rest in it.

Note, often anxious thoughts pop back up here and prevent you from experiencing His peace. If that happens, go back to the top and confess anxious thoughts again, prayerfully surrender them to Him, thank Him...and repeat there process until you experience His peace. 

With some situations, you can go through this verse once or twice and experience peace fairly quickly. 

However, with other situations…or on really anxious days, you might need to walk through these verses multiple times before you experience peace. 

That’s ok. You’re training your brain to surrender those anxious thoughts to Him.

With practice, you’ll notice you’re having to use this less and less, because certain anxious thoughts no longer have a grip on you.

Here's Hope

I wanna share one more verse and a final thought on overcoming anxious thoughts:

Psalm 34:4, says, “I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” 

This is possible…for you! I used to think this verse meant delivering me from fear was a one-time prayer and then "poof!" and He would heal me from all fears… past, present, and future…and that I’d never ever struggle with fear and anxiety again. 

However, I’ve since learned this verse actually means: each time we seek the Lord, he delivers us from our current fear. 

So as we continually learn to seek Him in the midst of fear, and cast our anxieties on Him, he is faithful to remove those fears…one by one, each and every time!! 

This verse demonstrates dependence on Him…seeking Him and depending on Him each time we feel anxious…and finding Him faithful to provide peace. 

And you know what? As you put this into practice over time, you'll notice yourself having fewer and fewer anxious thoughts to surrender to Him…bc those fears don’t have control over you anymore…your mind is renewing. 

Your Turn

I want to challenge you with one next step to help you break free from the anxiety that’s weighing you down and holding you back. This week, consider this:

Capture just one anxious thought and walk it through Philippians 4:6-7. 

Keep doing this, and you’ll begin to notice that those anxious thoughts won’t have the same control over you. 

With practice, your mind will be renewed, and you’ll experience His peace, even in the midst of chaos.

Feel free to lemme know how it goes!

If you’d like a few more strategies to overcome anxiety, sign up for my Free Faith-Based Anxiety Resource here!